Welcome to the Garfinkel Immigration news roundup, where every month we will summarize and provide links to the latest stories impacting U.S. immigration.
Below is the March 2023 edition of the Garfinkel Immigration news roundup:
Immigration considerations for employers and employees during layoffs
Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm published its newest white paper earlier this month.
In the paper, Partner Colleen F. Molner discusses immigration considerations for both employers and employees during layoffs.
“The United States unemployment rate continues to remain at a historically low level in the first quarter of 2023,” Molner writes. “However, multiple layoffs have been announced in the tech industry over the last few months, reportedly disproportionally impacting employment-based nonimmigrant visa holders.”
Read the full white paper here.
What to bring to the employment-based nonimmigrant visa interview
Employment-based nonimmigrant visas are granted to eligible foreign nationals who intend to work in the United States on a temporary, nonpermanent basis.
In many circumstances, employees who are applying to enter the U.S. to work based on a temporary nonimmigrant classification must complete an interview at an embassy or consulate to receive a valid visa stamp.
Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm provided further details about the employment-based nonimmigrant visa process as well as information about what to bring to the embassy/consulate interview in a story published earlier this month.
Read the full story from Garfinkel Immigration here.
Biden administration urges judge to allow latest ‘Dreamers’ rule
The Biden administration continues to implore a federal judge in Texas to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The future of DACA remains unresolved after multiple court rulings significantly impacted the program, specifically blocking the approval of new initial applications.
The case is currently once again in front of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, where the Biden administration made further arguments earlier this month.
“The Justice Department argued (in early March) that the administration’s latest version of the DACA program, which provides work permits and deportation relief for certain immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors, is a legal use of the government’s authority to decide which undocumented immigrants to prioritize for deportation,” according to a story from the Roll Call.
The story added that the government argued: “DACA is carefully designed to address a difficult national problem involving severe resource constraints and significant humanitarian and policy concerns.”
Read the full Roll Call story here.
Why the U.S. northern border is experiencing record migration
This story published by CNN in mid-March analyzes the factors influencing record migration at the border between the United States and Canada.
The story details the increasing number of individuals entering Canada from the northern border of the U.S. and vice versa.
“The Canadian government documented a record 3,901 unauthorized migrant entries into Quebec in 2022,” the CNN story read. “In January, which is the latest month on record, 4,875 asylum-seekers crossed unlawfully – more than double the number from the same time last year.”
The story adds: “In January 2022, the Border Patrol for Swanton, Vermont, recorded 24 encounters with migrants. This past January, the number was 367.”
U.S. to extend legal stay of Ukrainian refugees processed along Mexican border
The Biden administration extended the legal status in the United States of some Ukrainian refugees, according to a story published by CBS News in mid-March.
The specific extension will last for at least a year and applies to “refugees who were processed along the southern border” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
“As Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the unprecedented humanitarian crisis it has caused continue, DHS assesses that there remain urgent humanitarian reasons, as well as a significant public benefit, for extending the parole of certain Ukrainians and family members on a case-by-case basis to align with the parole provided under Uniting for Ukraine,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández told CBS News.
About 20,000 Ukrainians entered the U.S. through the southern border before the Uniting for Ukraine initiative was created in April 2022, according to CBS News. More than 115,000 Ukrainians have been admitted to the U.S. via that program.
Read the full CBS News story here.
New passport acceptance office opening in uptown Charlotte
Locally, a new passport office opened in Charlotte in early March.
The office was originally scheduled to open in March 2020, but was delayed for almost three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Charlotte station WBTV.
“This is the only passport facility located in the Uptown area,” city clerk Stephanie C. Kelly said in a press release, via WBTV. “The city is pleased to provide this additional convenience to city employees and Uptown residents, workers and visitors.”